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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Mary Lou and Melanie Write a Book!

The internet is a wonderful place and I've met such kind and talented people. Mary Lou Weidman is one of those people. She and Melanie McFarland have written a book and Mary Lou asked me to tell you about it. These ladies have bottled the joy of quilting and put it in a book. When I read in the introduction, "Who wants to do things like everyone else?....Be a stray once and awhile!" I knew they were my kind of quilters.

I'm a self taught quilter. I like to learn on my own and I'm always looking for new ways to do things. When I looked at the quilts in the book I told myself, I know how to do that. Then I read the technique section. These ladies have shared some interesting, unique techniques for making the blocks and shapes they use in their quilts. I learned new improvisational techniques that I can and will apply to my own work. I love a book where I actually learn something!

Mary Lou and Melanie are into letters and word in their quilts. It's such a great way to personalize a quilt and again, more good technique information here!

This book is about making quilts, but for me it's also about attitude, doing your own thing, stepping out of the box, and viewing quilts from an artist's perspective. Mary Lou and Melanie provide instructions for projects to make, but more importantly they offer great techniques that you can learn and use in your own original creations.
My favorite project in the book is this purple cow. It's funny I don't like purple, but when I saw this cow I thought about the cow that blocked the road as I drove home the other day. I just may have to make a giant purple cow, hang it in my new apartment to remind me of Kansas.

Mary Lou and Melanie have given me a signed copy of their book to give away. Just leave a comment and tell me your thoughts on improvisation...do you do it? Would you like to?
I'll draw a winner on Thursday! Don't know what time, so comment early!

I've never tried improvisational quilting. I'm still pretty new to the quilting in general, and entirely self taught, so I keep trying to learn something new with each quilt. Maybe improv will be the next skill I tackle!

more and more I find myslef drawn to doing improv. One of my quilting friends is quite aghast (good word eh?) at it but it feels so right to me. would love to check out new techniques...i mean if you are learning there must be tons for me to pick up. Thanks for the chance to win.

Honestly, I am a bit scared by improvisional quilting. I started quilting 2 years ago and I struggle wtih the artistic side of things so I find comfort in structure. But I would definitely like to learn more about it so one day can "let my hair down".

That book looks really interesting! I recently improv pieced letters for the first time and enjoyed it, although I suspect that I wasn't as efficient as I could have been. It would be great to learn tips to maximize my scraps!

Without improvisation, I think I would have made fewer things than I have now. I would be ripping too often. So, improvisation is really my thing!!! And the fun about it, I put more of me into the projects, recipes etc. I make.

No clue about this improv quilting... just wanted to say I would love the book simply because of the cow!!!It is soooo cute!!!! This type/style of quilting would certainly push me out of my comfort zone, for sure!...Karen

Looks like a great book! I love the idea of improvising, but one of my favorite parts of quilt making is the planning ahead of time and drawing out designs, etc. I would love to break out of that pattern and try something new.

What a fun book! I love the idea of improvisation but I find it very difficult to actually DO. I definitely need to work on letting go and having more spontaneous fun in my quilting. This book looks like a great inspiration!

like you, i'm a self-taught quilter...tried to quilt without a book first... this past year has had a little more improv quilting than before and i'd like to expand on that. i have a few qwen marston books that i love, but this would be a great addition to my book collection to help me break out of the box more.

What a fun looking book! I love hearing honest reviews of new books and tools! I think this might be right up my alley, as I improvise everything. LOL But would love to learn how to do it more efficiently!! :D Learning is GOOD!! :D Thanks for the chance Jacquie!

Oh man, what luck! I have been drooling over that book since I first saw it last week. I NEED it. Every quilter needs one in fact, or maybe we all need a purple cow.....well, let's start with the book. Thanks for the chance!

I have wanted to try improv quilting, but haven't been brave enough. It seems counter-intuitive to have a book on improv, but I think it's the ticket I need to give me the courage to try! thanks for the give away!camipaul @ comcast dot net

Even the word "improvisation" strikes terror in this long-time quilter's heart! I can't look at "the box," let alone step "outside the box!" I think I need such a book, don't I? Thank you for this nice giveaway, especially in the midst of sorting, preparing, and anticipating your life-changing move.

One of Mary Lou's books (Whimsies and Whynots, I think it was) was one of the first books that drew me to quilting. I would love to make a quilt that documents a trip my sister and I took right after I graduated college (yes, quite some time ago). I was helping her do field work and we went fossil hunting for three months. Lots of adventures and private jokes, would make a great Whimsie Quilt. One. Of. These. Days.

my two daughters just got back from visiting two cousins who live in Chicago. that's were our oldest daughter plans to live once she gets back from her adventures in Germany this coming January. You'll love it, think of all of the wonderful quilt shops that are there.

I love the look of improvised quilts! However I'm a bit of a planner and don't really make improvised blocks. Even when I made 16 little wonky log cabin blocks there was a bit of thought to it. This looks like another one of Mary Lou's fantastic books. They're just full of cheerful eye candy. Yum!

I love it and have tried some a la Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston, also had a workshop with Jan Mullen from Australia a few years ago. Love the 'no rules' approach! such fun. would love to have this book--some other blog showed a photo of an owl--gotta do that for sure.

I have been trying to reduce my book stash -- which is almost as out of control as my fabric stash -- and have been swaying back and forth over whether I should buy this book or not. If it was given to me, it could definitely join my bookshelf.

I'm pretty new to quilting, so I would say things fall into two areas: completely improvisational, just sewing some pieces together and not yet knowing what I'll do with them; and completely by-the-book, which is how I'm teaching myself to get a good foundation. That book looks very fun- I like the bird on the cover!

Yep, I improv. And when I make a mistake no one knows but me! And I have a short little memory so my improv quilts turn out just the way I want them to! I think I will make a purple cow just like the book says to...being a follower is still okay too.

I lean toward improv but haven't done much of it by myself yet. It's like taking a leap off a cliff for me. However, I really like the images in the book and especially the large and small letters mixed together. Thanks for the review. I'll definitely look for the book.

This does look like a fun book. I love the look of improv and try it from time to time. It always ends up looking like controlled improv though. So not the point, I think. I guess one is supposed to breathe while winging it! :)

I've loved MaryLou's quilts and humour for many years. I've got a perfect idea for a story quilt about my grandma and I've wanted to do letters and words for sure. Hope you pick my name.ninaquilts@shaw.ca

To this point, I'm not comfortable with improv, but I admire people who ARE comfortable with it and do it well. You would be a prime example. I would LIKE to break out of the box and be less structured. I think it's part of my inherent personality style to resist less structure, but I'm still determined to give it a try. At least I'm thinking about it...

I LOVE MaryLou and her attitude. Her story quilts are wonderful. I would so like to have a MaryLou book. I am still wanting to take one of her classes. I hear if you want to have GREAT FUN take one of her classes.Thank you for the chance..K

Being a fairly new quilter the most I have gotten inprovisional with is, throwing all the cut pieces in a bag and radomly pulling them out to quilt together. I am however starting a backing for a quilt I am going to totally improvise. Its hard to do though.

I've only got two quilts under my belt, the first one was pretty basic and I suppose you would call it improv. The second followed a pattern. I would really love to try more improv quilting but am a little intimidated.

Most of my work is improv. I followed a quilt pattern once and it just seemed so darned difficult to me. I still haven't finished that quilt (2 years ago). Patterns for bags and totes are a different story. Thanks for the giveaway, seems like a fun book!

Now this is my kind of sewing! Most everything I do is done "my way" not the "real way". Oh, well...I have fun and my projects don't look too bad if I do say so myself. (we're just not going to ask my professional sewer MIL! :} )Anyhoo, thanks for the opportunity to win this book! I'll keep my fingers crossed for sure.

I love improvisational piecing rather than trying to follow someone else's pattern. It seems much more creative and personal that way. This book looks like it has some interesting ideas and tips for this type of quilting, and I'd love to add it to my library. Thanks for the chance!

I didn't even know you " could" improv until I saw your blog a few years ago. Seriously the thought just never crossed my mind. Now I love it. I made my dad a whole quilt without a pattern. Just winged the whole thing. It was liberating. So I owe you a thanks for showing me the world of improv!!!

This does look like a great book. Sorry to hear about the porch. It amazes me how often doorknobs malfunction and leave people in a pinch. Good luck with the move, it is hard work so keep it up. Thanks for the giveaway.

What a great book! I, too, am in love with the purple cow and I don't live anywhere near Kanasas. I both both structured (with a pattern) and improvisational quilting. I do both but I think I have the most fun when I am improvising. Sometimes it feels intimidating but the more I do it, the more comfortable I feel just letting my own creativity come out.Great story about the porch! I can relate. I have locked myself out of my house and car more times than I care to admit!

I'm surely too late for the giveaway, but thought I would share that I'm a total improviser. I've never taken a quilting class and figured out everything I know from books and guesswork. Even then, I just use the book or magazine as a place to learn technique and then I go off and design my own project. Glad to find I'm not alone.

I have been a fan of your blog for a while but have never left a comment before. I am new to Melanie and Mary Lou's Purple Cow. Just discovered it Monday around 2in the morning! I love it. Love their style, love the idea of thinking out of the box. and I hope I win their book!

Gosh I hope I'm not to late either, I would love to make this purple cow! I LOVE him. But I love the letters in the book. My granddaughter and I have a saying that we have said to each other since she could talk, I would love to make a quilt with our saying and give it to her!sunluvr5@cox.net

I haven't tried improv (I've barely tried anything... yet!) but I LOVE that cow (and purple). How utterly cute. I figure the comp is done and dusted but I just had to comment anyway. Love! Thanks for sharing.

I have started doing improvisational quilting this past year. I really like to just buy fabric I love and piece things together with whatever I have. No worries about buying the right yardage and cutting hundreds of pieces all the same size. Just go with whatever comes to you and love the creative process!

I struggled with quilting until I figured out that I can do it without a pattern. I tried so hard to make the pretty quilts I saw in books and they never turned out. Then I figured out I could just buy fabrics I liked, a nice solid, cut a few strips, sew a little here, add a sashing, etc and before I knew it....a quilt!

The book looks delightful! I laughed so much at your escapade on the screened in porch! I did the same thing in college, and I had to build a tower out of coolers and chairs to climb up to my opened 2nd floor bedroom to get back in!:)

I did try to do free form quilting - but I sort of copied it from an idea on the internet, so I don't think that really counts! Very kind of you to give away a free book. I started following your blog a few months ago - I love your big moose - I have a big cardboard dinosaur in the attic that my son and I made about 20 years ago!

Thanks for the very informative book review and the nice selection of photos showing what the book has to offer. I used to be a strict pattern follower, but now do much more improvisation and make my own quilt designs (and try to remember to do the math correctly). Best wishes for your move!

Happiness is being loved and accepted for being yourself. That's how I feel about improvising in creativity. More of us need to put our insecurities to the side and dare to color outside the box! When I push myself to do that - it's a thrill, trust me!

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welcome to tallgrass prairie studio

i am a mom of two young men and wife to my fabulous, supportive hubby. i love modern quilts and doing my own thing. feel free to look around and check out my work. questions? drop me an email at jgeringirre at yahoo dot com or leave a comment.
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